HCM City (VNA) - A ceremony was held at Pho Minh pagoda on April 6 to jointly celebrate the traditional New Year festivals of Bunpimay of Laos, Songkran of Thailand, Chol Chhnam Thmay of Cambodia, and Thingyang of Myanmar.
Jointly held by the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Friendship Organisations (HUFO) and the Central International Buddhist Committee of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS) in HCM City, the event saw the participation of representatives of the Consulates General of Laos, Thailand and Cambodia, and a large number of students and citizens of the four countries living, working and studying in the southern city.
Addressing the event, HUFO Vice President Ho Xuan Lam highlighted the friendship between Vietnam and the four countries, especially cooperation and mutual assistance in the cause of national construction and development.
The annual celebration demonstrated the friendship among the people of ASEAN member countries, thereby contributing to deepening mutual understanding between Vietnam and its neighbours, and enhancing cultural exchanges and multifaceted cooperation between the Vietnamese people, and those in HCM in particular and their Lao, Cambodian, Thai and Myanmar counterparts.
Most Venerable Thich Thien Tam, Vice President of the Executive Council and Vice Head of the Central International Buddhist Committee of the VBS, said the celebration highlighted the similarities in culture and religious practices among countries in the region, effectively promoting solidarity and harmony between the people of Vietnam and the four countries in their efforts to promote peace and development in each country and the region.
Phonesy Bounmixay, Consul General of Laos in HCM City, thanked for the thoughtful organisation and the deep interest of the municipal authorities and people in the culture of neighboring countries.
He said that the celebration helped bring the people of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam closer together, thus fostering friendship, solidarity, and a shared commitment to national construction and development in each country./.
